This invention relates to a street sweeper with a multi-position gutter brush.
Street sweepers have long been utilized to remove debris from the surface of a street and adjacent curbs, gutters and the like. The sweepers have usually included a so-called gutter brush mounted for driven rotation about a generally vertical axis, with the brush being movable between a retracted position inboard of the supporting vehicle and an operating position in contact with the street surface.
In previous devices, the gutter brush has been mounted to a linkage arrangement which permitted vertical brush movement about one or more horizontal axes, and a unitary tie rod connecting the vehicle frame and the brush assembly held the brush assembly for suitable horizontal swinging movement about a generally vertical axis. A motive device, such as an hydraulic ram, moved the brush between positions.
Heretofore, the tie rod was of fixed length and the construction was such that movement of the brush assembly from retracted position to street-engaging position brought the brush into the same operating position every time, which was normally in overlapping relation with the vehicle body for engagement with a curb along which the vehicle moved.
However, it has been found that under certain circumstances, the normal operating position of the brush has not been adequate. For example, in some situations, the street may be very narrow and the vehicle must be driven along very closely to the curb. For the brush to sweep against the curb, it would have to be positioned substantially completely inboard of the vehicle body. This was not possible with the above-mentioned normal fixed relationship of the parts. In other situations, it may be desirable to sweep the top of a ledge or sidewalk, thus necessitating positioning of the brush substantially completely outboard of the vehicle and at a raised position relative to the street. This, also, was not possible with the aforementioned construction.
The present invention is directed to the concept of constructing the brush assembly mounting so that the length of the horizontal component of swing of the vertical brush axis about a fixed vertical axis on the vehicle is variable. By so doing, the retractable brush assembly may be selectively positioned between fully inboard, overlapping inboard-outboard, and fully outboard and raised, when the brush is in operating position.
More specifically, it is contemplated that the change in length of the horizontal component of swing shall be made along the axis of the tie rod, which is generally parallel to but offset laterally from the linkage arrangement for vertical movement, when viewed in plan.
In the embodiment disclosed herein, the tie rod itself is adjustable in length to provide the change in horizontal swing component, and thus provide different desired operating positions of the gutter brush.